When Mary K. Doyle was a child, she was entranced with the stories her mother read from Andersen's Fairy Tales. "Make-believe came to life," she writes in her introduction, "with characters I could see and hear. Their problems were real to me. Their fears and joys were mine]]. The underlying lessons and morals intertwined in his enchanting stories teach about loving one another, right and wrong, and the consequences of bullying, lying, and cheating. He also writes of siblings and friends caring for one another. And many of his characters pray and call on God in their times of need." Mary has chosen fifty passages from her fragile childhood copy of Andersen's Fairy Tales, including "The Ugly Duckling," "The Tinder Box," and "The Snow Queen."